Chapter 97

Zeena's POV

I wasn't sure how long we stood there.

It couldn't have been more than a minute, but with every second that passed, the silence grew heavier and my heartbeat became more rapid. The only sounds came from the stream behind us and the breeze stirring the leaves overhead. Nothing else moved.

My eyes swept over the trees again.

Had we been caught or maybe it had been an animal?

No.

I dismissed the thought almost immediately. If it were just an animal, Andre would've already told us to keep moving. Lucius wouldn't have looked like he was trying to catch something the wind kept stealing from him, and Laura...

I glanced at her.

Her shoulders were rigid, her nostrils flaring as she drew in another slow breath. There was a sharpness in her eyes that hadn't been there a moment ago, the faint glow telling me her wolf was much closer to the surface than usual.

Whatever she'd picked up, it definitely wasn't ordinary.

Unfortunately, my own wolf wasn't much help.

Ever since Ryder became unconscious, Celeste had just decided she'd grieve and leave me to my own woes. So now I was just…Zeena. Sometimes I caught scents more clearly than before. Other times I felt like I was no better than I had been before I shifted.

Right now was one of those times and I hated it.

We stood like that as no one spoke nor moved. At this rate we'd still be standing here when the sun came up.

I let out a quiet breath.

"If someone's there, they clearly know we're here already," I said, my voice sounding louder than I intended in the stillness. "We can't just stand around forever."

No one answered.

I frowned, looking from Andre to Lucius before finally settling on Laura.

"Seriously?"

I took a step forward and before I could say another word, fingers closed around my arm. And as I guessed, it was Andre's.

He didn't look at me. His attention stayed fixed on the trees ahead.

"Don't," he said quietly.

I looked at him, confused.

"Why not?"

A slight shake of his head was all I got.

I sighed through my nose and looked away, resisting the urge to pull free. If everyone else seemed content standing around in silence, apparently I was outnumbered.

That's when I noticed Lucius.

He wasn't watching the trees anymore.

He was watching Laura.

One hand rested around her wrist, not restraining her exactly, but ready to if he needed to.

"Laura?" I called softly.

Her eyes didn't leave the forest. At first I thought she hadn't heard me, then she blinked once.

"It's..." she murmured before stopping herself.

"It's what?" I asked.

She inhaled again, slower this time.

"I'm trying to place that scent."

The words caught me off guard. "You know who?"

She didn't answer immediately. Instead, she took one step forward before Lucius tightened his grip just enough to stop her.

Her jaw clenched as she replied. "It's familiar."

That only confused me more. "If it's someone you know, shouldn't we find out who it is?"

Andre finally turned toward us.

"No."

The firmness in his voice surprised even me.

"We're leaving."

I stared at him. "We're just... leaving?"

"We've spent enough time here."

"But what if whoever's hiding out there followed us?"

"They won't."

"And how do you know that?"

His gaze softened slightly.

"Because if they wanted us, they would've made themselves known already."

I opened my mouth to argue again but stopped. He wasn't guessing so I decided to believe what he was saying.

Lucius nodded once too. "I agree."

I looked at Laura, expecting her to object.

She didn't. Whatever she'd picked up had unsettled her, but after a long moment she stepped back and gave Andre a stiff nod.

Without another word, Andre gestured for us to move. Instead of taking the path we'd used earlier, he led us deeper into the trees before cutting across the forest in a wide curve.

It took me a few minutes to realise we weren't heading back the same way.

"We're going the long way?" I asked.

Andre nodded. "We don't need to leave more scent around the stream."

That... actually made sense.

If anyone came looking for Elliot, the less they found, the better.

None of us spoke for a while after that.

The forest gradually began waking around us, birds replacing the silence we'd left behind.

Only when we were well away from the river did I finally slow down.

"Can someone please tell me what just happened back there?"

Andre dragged a tired hand over his face.

"Nothing happened."

I gave him a look. "Exactly. That's my point."

"Sometimes nothing happening is the best outcome."

"I don't get it."

"We didn't know who was watching us," he explained. "Following them would've meant flooding that area with our scent. If they're harmless, we've gained nothing. If they're dangerous, we wait and see how it plays out."

I frowned.

"So we just... walked away?"

"Yes."

It still didn't sit right with me but before I could argue again, Lucius spoke.

“Right now we don't know what to expect, so it's best to not act rashly.”

Yeah, he had a point but, “are we going to ignore Laura's reaction?”

“What about my reaction?”

Was she serious? “It clearly shows that you picked something, why can't we act on that?”

“If anyone should know something it should be you.”

“Me?!”

"You've seen them before."

I blinked.

"No."

Her brows knitted together like she was trying to decide if I was lying or not. I stared at her, completely lost.

"Laura, I honestly don't know what you're talking about."

Andre stepped between us before either of us could say anything else.

"Enough."

Laura looked away.

Andre sighed.

"I don't think Zeena's lying."

"I'm telling you what I smelled."

"And I'm telling you she believes what she's saying."

Silence settled between us again.

Laura muttered something under her breath that I couldn't quite catch before continuing ahead of the group.

I watched her go before looking at Andre.

‘What's wrong with her?’ I mouthed.

He only gave a small shrug.

"I'll talk to her later."

That answer wasn't satisfying in the slightest, but I let it go.

The rest of the walk passed quietly. By the time Stormfang's gates came into view, dawn had begun spilling across the horizon.

The sight should've atleast brought relief.

Instead, I found myself glancing back toward the forest one last time.

Nothing looked out of place.

Nothing moved.

Still, I couldn't shake the feeling that unseen eyes had followed us until the very edge of the trees.

I told myself it was just my imagination.

After everything that had happened these past few days, I had every reason to be jumpy.

I just hoped I wasn't wrong.